Green Eggs & Ham

Tim Acosta's Hwy. 1 Double Smoked Ham

Unless the package states otherwise, all prepared hams — bone-in, boneless, spiral cut, shank or butt — are wet cured and smoked, which means they’re already cooked and just need to be heated. Additional smoking and/or using a rub or glaze are just ways to add your own flavors. I smoke hams on my Big Green Egg (BGE) using the same low-and-slow smoking technique that I use for my ribs. A mixture of lump charcoal and woods are a must — I use hickory wood chunks, but you can use pecan, cherry, mesquite or applewood chunks or chips. The whole process, start to finish, takes less than four hours (or three beers). Leftovers are great with — what else? — eggs.

Ingredients

7-8 pound Smithfield spiral sliced, shank or butt ham

Spicy Creole mustard

Bad Byron’s Butt Rub

1 tablespoon cloves

1 (48-ounce) can of pineapple juice

3 bottles Abita Root Beer

1-1/2 cups dark brown sugar

1/2 cup orange juice

Whole fresh pineapple

Directions

Make sure the vents on your BGE are wide open. Fill with lump charcoal and 2 handfuls of hickory wood chunks to just above the bottom air holes. (Use more wood chunks and less charcoal for a stronger flavor.) Place a piece of fire starter down in the center of the coals and light it. Sprinkle with hickory wood chips. Place the bottom grate over the charcoal and wood. Set the BGE on indirect cooking at 225 degrees.

Rinse the ham with cold water and pat dry. Using a long sharp knife, score the fat in a 1-inch-wide, 1/4-inch-deep diamond pattern. Coat with mustard, then pat Butt Rub over mustard coating, pressing firmly to adhere. Stud ham with whole cloves.

When the BGE is hot, you’ll need to “burp it” by raising the lid a few inches, then closing it, raising it, and then closing it again. This will release a bit of the heat. Burp the BGE a few times before opening the lid completely.

Fill a large disposable aluminum pan with pineapple juice. Place the pineapple juice pan on the bottom grate of the BGE to catch any drippings. (The juice will help keep the pork most.) Cover with the top grate and place the ham directly on it. Cook for 1 hour.

While ham is cooking, core the pineapple. Start by removing the base and leaves of the pineapple using a sharp knife. Then stand the pineapple on one end and shave off the skin top to bottom. Cut out the eyes. Cut into quarters. Working one at a time, stand each quarter on its end and cut downward to remove the core. Repeat until all quarters are cut, then chop into chunks. One medium pineapple will yield about 3 cups of chunks.

Open the lid of the BGE and add the pineapple. Continue cooking for another hour.

To make the glaze: Bring root beer, brown sugar and orange juice to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until glaze is reduced by half.

Open the lid and pour the glaze on the ham. Continue cooking for another hour or until internal temperature of 140 degrees is reached.

Remove ham from the BGE. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Slice and serve with smoked pineapple.